Dorset weekly round-up: 11 December - 16 December 2023

The Bibby Stockholm has capacity for 500 men

The death of an asylum seeker on the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge was among our most read stories this week in Dorset.

A variety of local issues featured on the BBC News website, BBC Radio Solent and South Today.

We have picked five stories to keep you up to date.

Asylum seeker on Bibby Stockholm barge dies

Flowers have been left at the entrance to Bibby Stockholm

An asylum seeker has died onboard the Bibby Stockholm migrant accommodation barge in Portland.

Sources told the BBC the man is thought to have taken his own life.

The Home Office said welfare was of those onboard was of the utmost importance.

Retired police officer sentenced for killing wife

Elizabeth Richings died at an address off Wick Lane in the Southbourne area of Bournemouth

A retired police officer has been handed a suspended prison sentence for strangling his wife of nearly 60 years.

Grenville Richings pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 83-year-old Elizabeth Richings at their home in Bournemouth on 3 June.

The court heard he had become "deeply desperate" because of her constant pain and failing health.

Ice skating dream comes true for 102-year-old

A grandmother celebrated her 102nd birthday by ice skating for the first time since she was a girl.

Eileen Pickering took to the rink in Bournemouth after staff at her care home arranged the experience.

She began skating after ice hockey matches at her local rink in London when she was a young girl but struggled to find a venue for her passion when her family moved to Dorset.

Man, 88, led to safety from bathroom fire

The fire on Wednesday night in the first floor bathroom spread to the roof of the home

An 88-year-old man has been led to safety by firefighters after a fire broke out in the bathroom of a house.

Crews from five stations were sent to the home on Tricketts Lane, Ferndown, Dorset after the fire started on Wednesday shortly after 22:15 GMT.

The fire service said crews found the fire in the first floor bathroom had spread to the roof of the house.

Countryside adventure site plans spark row

This 15-hectare site has been used for outdoor activities since 2008

The expansion of a countryside adventure site is an "abuse" of a remote area of ancient woodland, critics have said.

Max Events at Shakes Hole near Tolpuddle, Dorset, has asked for planning consent for a storage building and the continuation of a camping area.

The outdoor pursuits provider said it would make its operation "more efficient and sustainable".